Centrifugal separator



June 4, 1940.

H. E. KORUM 7 2,203,532

CENTRIFUGAL SEPARATOR Filed Sept. 7, 1937 IN VENTOR W/T/VESS HENRY E. KORUM .26 a? W A TTORNEYS Patented June .4, 1940 & Company, Moline,

Illinois 111., a. corporation of Application September 7, 1937, Serial No, 162,653

, 3 Claims.

The present invention relatesfito centrifugal separators of the whirlwind type and more particularly to a separator adapted to be used in conjunction with the feed collector of a hammer mill or similar feed grinding device.

It is common practice when grinding livestock feed to blow the ground material up into a hopper or collector from. which it can be sacked or a loaded into vehicles. The hopper generally comprises a cylindrical chamber into which the blast ofair. and suspended material is directed tangentially. Acylindrical bafiie disposed coaxially with the sides of the chamber, defines an annular passageway through which the air swirls rapidly,

centrifugal force outwardly against the wall of the chamber, from which it falls to the bottom and out through the material discharge spout. Aportion-of the air blast escapes through the material discharge'spoutand acts to speed up i the flow of material whilethe remainder of the air blast escapes through the cylindrical baffie which is in communication with anexhaust port in thecenter of the top of the hopper.

Experiments have proved, however, that variations in the volume of air and fineness of suspended material produce variationsin the efiiciency of the separator. Under'some conditions, the more finely ground material is blown out the exhaust port, indicating incomplete separation, while atother times the volume of air escaping through thematerial discharge spout is excessive, resulting in blowing the material through the pores of the receiving bag. I have found that by placing a valve or damper in the exhaust port and regulating the proportional volumes of air escaping through the material discharge spout and through the air exhaust port, gqod eificiency of separation can be maintained under all conditions. At the first sign of material blowing out through the exhaust port, the valve is closed slightly, causing a greater flow of air through the discharge spout, whereupon the exhaust air stream becomes clear. When the air escaping through the material discharge spout is excessive and fine ground material is being blown out of the bag, the check valve may be opened and a greater proportion of the air allowed to escape through the exhaust port, thereby relieving the pressure at the material discharge spout.

I have also found that when grinding the heavier grains such as ear or shelled corn where the volume of material handled is large, there is a tendency for the material to pile up around the sides of the chamber adjacent to thebottom of theheav'ier suspended material being thrown by the baflle, restricting the flow of air out through the exhaust port. The result is that turbulence is set up and material is blown out through the exhaust port. To remedy this; the cylindrical baflle is made in two telescopic sections which in 5 normal use are fully extended, but which may be partially closed to increase the size of the passage at the point where deposition occurs.

The main object of the present invention, therefore is to provide means for balancing the proportional'volumes of air escaping through the material discharge spout and the air exhaust port.

Another object is to provide means for regulating the effective length of thebaflle for the purpose ofincrea'sing or: decreasing the size of the passageway at thecpoint where deposition of material tends to interfere with the free flow of air; t

' These and other objects and advantages will become apparent after a consideration of the following detailed. description .of an embodiment of my invention, reference being had to the appended drawingin which t Figure 1 is a side view of, a separator embodying the principles of my invention, and

Figure 2 is a. plan view of the implement shown in Figure 1.

Referring now to the drawing, the separator; ofthe feed collector type, indicated generally by the reference numeral 4, comprises a vertically disposed cylindrical sheet metal chamber 5 having along cone-shaped lower portion 5 depending from the bottom thereof; At its lower end, the cone 6 divides and diverges to form a two way discharge spout I. A flap valve 8 hinged at the line of intersection 9 of the inner walls of the two spouts, controls the flow of material through either of the spouts, while hooks l0 provide means for attaching and holding the bags to the mouths of the spouts.

Supporting the feed collector in operating position is a tripod structure l4 comprising an annular band I5 which is fixedly attached around the cylindrical chamber 5 at the top thereof. Extending radially from the band IE5 at degree intervals are three lugs H5 to which are fixed, as by bolts H, the three downwardly and outwardly extending legs I8. The legs are braced and held in position by means of three bracing members I!) which are rigidly connected at their outer ends to their respective legs l8, and at their inner ends are bolted to a collar 20 which encircles the restricted portion of the cone 6 just above the discharge spouts 1.

Extending downwardly from the top cover plate 24 of the chamber 5 is a cylindrical bafile, indicated in its entirety by the reference numeral 25, which is coaxial with the wall of the chamber 5. The baffle comprises a top section 26 and a bottom section 21, the latter being telescopically disposed within the top section. The lower portion 28 of the bottom sec tion 21 normally extends down into the cone shaped portion 6 of the chamber and is tapered inwardly to conform to the slope of its sides.

held in any position of extension relative thereto by means of a plurality of radially spaced friction bolts 32 which pass through vertical slots" 33 in the bottom section 21 and aligned holes in the top section 26. Thus, by loosening the bolts 32 it is possible to move the bottom section up or down the length of the slots 33. v

At the top of the baffle, the cover plate 24 is cut away, leaving a circular aperture 34 which serves as the airexhaust port. Diametrically disposed across the exhaust port 34 and journaled in a pair of lugs 35 formed by extending portions of the top section 26 of the baille, is a shaft 36 to which is rigidly fixed a circular damper 31. One end of the shaft 36 is extended to the outer edge of the chamber 5 and bent at a right angle to form a crank 38. Disposed vertically along the side of the chamber 5 is a damper control rod 40, the top end of which is bent at a right angle and passed through a hole drilled through the crank portion 38 of the damper shaft 36. The control rod 40 is held in adjusted position by means of a pin 42 supported on'a bracket 43 and having an aperture through which the rod 40 extends. A compression spring 44, between the head of the pin 42 and the bracket 43, holds the rod- 40 in frictional engagement with the bracket. The lower end of the'control rod is bent to form a handle 4 I.

The blast of air carrying suspended ground material, enters the chamber 5 through a duct 45 disposed tangential to the chamber and near the top thereof. The air follows the annular passageway between the wall of the chamber and the The bottom sec-, H tion 21 is secured to the top section and rigidly" and the heavy material settles to the bottom, passing out through, one of the material discharge spouts l. A part of the air also escapes through the discharge spout with the material, although the greater portion of'it passes up through the baffle and out the exhaust port, the exact proportions passing through each of the outlets being governed by the damper 31. The position of the damper is controlled by moving the control rod40 up or down.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In a centrifugal separator for separating suspended material from a fluid, the combination of a cylindrical chamber having a material discharge gate at the bottom thereof adapted to discharge a continuous flow of precipitated material and a portion of the fluid during operation,

an-intake duct, a fluid exhaust duct, and means comprising an independently controlled valve in said exhaust duct for controlling the proportions of fluidescaping through said material discharge gate and saidexhaust duct for a given rate of flow of said fluid into said chamber.

2. Aseparator of the class described, comprising in combination, a cylindrical chamber, a pneumatic delivery pipe disposed in communication therewith and tangentially thereto, a discharge spout at the bottom of said chamber for precipitated material and a portion of the stream of air for propelling said material, a cylindrical bailie disposed coaxially within said chamber and defining an air exhaust duct within said baflle, a damper valve in said exhaust duct, and means for adjusting said damper valve to adjust the rate of air fiowthrough said exhaust duct relative to the rateoffiow in said discharge spout and relative to the i'ate of flow through said delivery pipe.

3.. A centrifugal separator for separating suspended material from a fluid, comprising in combination, a vertically extending separator chamher, an intake duct disposed in communication therewith andtangentially thereto, said chamber having a discharge opening at the bottom thereof for discharging precipitated material with a portion of the stream of fluid for propelling the same, and an exhaust opening at the top thereof for discharging the fluid from which said material has been precipitated, and mechanical means for adjusting the rate of fiowof fluid through said exhaust opening relative to the rate 01f flow through said discharge opening and relative to the rate of flow through said intake duct.

HENRY E. KORUlVl. 

